The “Suicide Grip” for bench presses is a favorite among athletes who can bench press heavy weight as it takes the stress off the wrist, and allows the bar to be aligned nearly straight above the forearm. This enables you to lift more weight and train harder.

As you can see by the illustration, all of your fingers INCLUDING YOUR THUMB are on the same side of the bar. You can lift more weight, but you can drop the bar on your throat or chest. This is why it is good to use a “Smith Machine” or stops to stop the weight from falling on to you. You should always train with a spotter. (What is a Smith Machine? Deltech Fitness Linear Bearing Smith Machine)

Unfortunately, it is called the “Suicide Grip” for a good reason.

Recently, USC football star Stafon Johnson ended up in critical condition after using the suicide grip. Stafon was no amateur, he is a large, very strong guy and was experienced using the “suicide grip”. Stafon was a powerful lifter and knew how to properly do a bench press with the suicide grip, yet…

The accident was horrific.

Stafon dropped the bar right on his throat, crushing his larynx and blood immediately began squirting out of his nose and mouth. He was in critical condition in the hospital after 7 hours of surgery. Thankfully, Stafon will recover but he will not play for the rest of the season.

Read the full story here in the LA Times:

USC’s Stafon Johnson Injured In Weightlifting Accident

Suicide Grip Injury

Newser.com tells a bit more:
USC Athlete Injured In Weight Room Accident

Ryan Kennelly holds the world’s record for the bench press, and in this video you can clearly see that he did not need to use it to lift more weight than anyone else on earth.

The world’s most powerful lifter does not need the suicide grip to set a new world record… do you?

What is a skinny fat person?

When you think of a fat person, you usually imagine someone who is obese – this is not always the case. In fact, it is possible to be what is known as a “skinny fat person”.

For a man, this is someone whose percentage of body fat is too high – for men, this would mean over 30% body fat. It is possible for someone to appear fit and trim, yet still have too much fat on their body. Even by using a simple BMI Calculator their statistical BMI will appear to be within the norm, yet they have too much body fat and are weak.

Are you a skinny fat person?
The only way to know for sure is to test your percentage of body fat. This is simple nowadays as many modern bathroom scales will actually measure your body fat percentage. This is easily determined through the use of electrical resistance.

If you do not have a bathroom scale equipped with this feature and would like to know your percentage of body fat and whether it is within the optimal range, you can do so at your local gym or doctor’s office. Gyms will often provide this measurement for free in an effort to get you to sign up!

Measure your body fat percentage

Top image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You wouldn’t know it to see me now, but I was the skinniest kid on the block. I had biceps like a 12 year old girl, but I was 17! It was so embarassing, I wouldn’t take my shirt off at the beach!

Things are different now…

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